RECORDING ACADEMY™ Also To Highlight The Work Of Promising Law Students During GRAMMY® Week

WHO: The 21st annual Entertainment Law Initiative® Event & Scholarship Presentation will take place during GRAMMY® Week. Dina LaPolt, founder of LaPolt Law, will be the recipient of the 2019 Entertainment Law Initiative Service Award. This honor is awarded to an attorney who has demonstrated a commitment to advancing and supporting the music community through service. Tina Tchen, a partner with Buckley Sandler, will deliver the keynote address. The winner of this year's Entertainment Law Initiative Writing Competition (to be announced in January) will also be present at the event. Other program participants include Michael Kushner, Entertainment Law Initiative Executive Committee Chair; Ken Abdo, Entertainment Law Initiative Program Chair and top music industry attorney (Fox Rothschild LLP); and Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy™.

WHAT: The Entertainment Law Initiative event is the nation's preeminent gathering for entertainment attorneys and the music business community, and it provides a forum for the industry to honor its legal practitioners, hear from thought leaders, and support promising law students interested in entertainment law. Sponsorship packages for the Entertainment Law Initiative Event are available. Please contact Neil Crilly at neil.crilly@recordingacademy.com for information. Individual tickets for the event are on sale here: grammy.com/eli-tickets.

This annual program also includes a Writing Competition that invites law students to write a 3,000-word paper on a compelling legal topic facing the music industry today. The contest is open to Juris Doctor (JD) or Master of Laws (LLM) candidates currently enrolled at an American Bar Association accredited law school. A $10,000scholarship will be awarded to the author of the winning paper, and a $2,500 scholarship will be awarded to the runner-up. In addition, the winner will receive travel and tickets to various 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards® events. The GRAMMY Awards will be held at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019. The telecast will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. For complete contest rules, visit www.grammy.com/entertainment-law-initiative. For further questions, email eli@recordingacademy.com.

DINA LAPOLT

Founder and owner of LaPolt Law, P.C., Dina LaPolt is an attorney, educator, and world-renowned advocate for songwriters and music creators. Owner of one of the music industry's leading law firms, LaPolt runs the only firm of its stature founded and run by a sole female attorney. She is an expert at strategizing and solving complex and sophisticated legal and business issues relating to contracts, copyrights, trademarks, rights of publicity, policy, and litigation. As one of the industry's chief advocates on behalf of music creators, serving as the attorney-advisor to the Songwriters of North America (which she co-founded in 2015 with songwriters Michelle Lewis and Kay Hanley), she boldly took on the U.S. Department of Justice in 2016—orchestrating a lawsuit against them in connection with their 100% licensing mandate and resulting in the DOJ abandoning its position. LaPolt has been a strong proponent of copyright reform for music creators, working tirelessly toward the passage of the Music Modernization Act, which was signed into law in 2018 and represents the most sweeping copyright legislation in decades. For the 18th consecutive year, she will teach her UCLA Extension class, "Legal and Practical Aspects of the Music Business," hailed by media as a "must-attend." In December, LaPolt was selected as one of Billboard's 2018 Women in Music, Executives of the Year in June, LaPolt was bestowed with MIDEM's 2018 Attorney of the Year award; and earlier in the year, she was selected to Billboard's Power 100. Dina is consistently honored with other industry accolades, including Billboard's Women in Music and Music's Top Lawyers; TheHollywood Reporter's Power Lawyers; and Variety's Legal Impact Report, Dealmakers Impact Report, and Women's Impact Report.

TINA TCHEN

A partner with Buckley Sandler, Tina Tchen draws on more than 30 years of experience at the highest levels of private practice and government service. She provides corporations, boards, and individuals with unique litigation, counseling, and crisis management skills. Previously, she served as an assistant to President Obama, executive director of the White House Council on Women and Girls, and chief of staff to first lady Michelle Obama. Tchen is a leader of Buckley Sandler's Workplace Cultural Compliance Practice, counseling companies on issues related to gender inequity, sexual harassment, and diversity in the workplace. She has been instrumental in spearheading the Time's Up movement's Legal Defense Fund, which provides legal support to women and men who have experienced workplace sexual harassment. Tchen also serves as Chair of the Recording Academy's Task Force On Diversity & Inclusion convened to identify the various barriers and unconscious biases faced by underrepresented communities throughout the music industry and across all Recording Academy operations.

WHEN: Friday, Feb. 8, 2019

10:30 a.m. Media Check-In

11 a.m. Reception and Media Interviews

11:45 a.m. Luncheon, Remarks, and Presentation of Service Award and Scholarship Award

WHERE: Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows

101 Wilshire Blvd.

Santa Monica, CA 90401

PARKING: $22 Valet

MEDIA RSVP MANDATORY: christina.cassidy@recordingacademy.com.IMPORTANT INFORMATION: If you are interested in covering this event, you MUST request credentials no later than 6 p.m. PT on Friday, Jan. 18, 2019. Credentials can be picked up at media check-in on the day of the event. MEDIA MUST BE CREDENTIALED.All satellite truck/van parking must be coordinated no later than Friday Jan. 18, 2019.

ABOUT THE RECORDING ACADEMY:

The Recording Academy represents the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and all music professionals. Dedicated to ensuring the recording arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage, the Academy honors music's history while investing in its future through the GRAMMY Museum®, advocates on behalf of music creators, supports music people in times of need through MusiCares®, and celebrates artistic excellence through the GRAMMY Awards—music's only peer-recognized accolade and highest achievement. As the world's leading society of music professionals, we work year-round to foster a more inspiring world for creators.

For more information about the Academy, please visit www.grammy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, follow @RecordingAcad on Twitter, "like" Recording Academy on Facebook, and join the Recording Academy's social communities on Instagram, Tumblr, and YouTube.

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